I.
To delete a woman
you don't have to kill her
Persecute until she loses
her sanity
forgets who she is and who
she was
barrage constantly with
threats to increase her fear
then deny everything
Humiliate her and her
family by labeling them inferior
forcing cultural
assimilation on them
although her claim to the
land is older
Spread political falsehoods
that belittle her contributions to
society
twist her words into
incoherent rants
II.
You delete a woman from
society
by kidnapping,
assassination, burning,
drowning, poisoning,
electrocution, beatings
Rob her family of her
presence
and you weaken their
foundation
by her sudden and
irreversible absence
The palate of the assassin
is sardonically sweetened
yet with time
there is a bitter taste in
the mouth
a putrid odor in the
breathing
and the face become
emotionless and robotic
twisted and distorted
But on their deathbed
the images of all the women
whom they disappeared
return to haunt them
Alicia Zavala Galván
San Antonio, Texas
In Homage to the Assassinated
or Missing Indigenous Women
Regina, Saskatchewan,
Canada
